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2005 Recipient:
Paul W. Airey
Former Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force
2005 Recipients:
 Patty Wagstaff
Aerobatic Aviator
Ms. Patty Wagstaff is known for flying one of the most thrilling, low level aerobatic
routines in the world. Her breathtaking performances give spectators a front-row view of the precision and complexity
of modern and unlimited aerobatics style that sets the standard for performers the world over.
At nine years of age, Patty moved to Japan with her father who was a captain for Japan
Air Lines. Her cross-cultural academic career, which began in Japan, took her to Southeast Asia, Europe and Australia.
In 1979, Patty moved to Alaska where she began her now-legendary career in aviation. Her first flying lesson was in
a Cessna 185 floatplane. Later she earned her Commercial, Instrument, Seaplane and Commercial Helicopter Ratings.
She is a Flight and Instrument Instructor and is rated and qualified to fly numerous airplanes from World War II
warbirds to modern jets.
Ms. Wagstaff has won countless awards for her flying skills. A three-time U.S. National
Aerobatic Champion, and International Aerobatic Champion, Patty was the first woman to win the title of U.S. National
Aerobatic Champion. She is a six-time recipient of the “First Lady of Aerobatics” Betty Skelton Award. Patty has won
the gold, silver and bronze medals in national and international competitions. She has trained with the Russian
Aerobatic Team and flown air shows and competitions around the world. In March, 1994, her airplane, the Goodrich
Extra 260, went on display in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
Today, Ms. Wagstaff oversees Patty Wagstaff Air Shows in St. Augustine, Florida. During
the off-season, she engages in such diverse projects as stunt flying and serving as a consultant to the movie and
television industry. She is a member of the Screen Actors Guild, the Motion Picture Pilots Association and the United
Stuntwomen’s Association. She has flown demonstration aircraft such as the T-6A Texan II. Recently she was in Africa
providing recurrency and bush training to pilots in the Kenyan Wildlife Service.
 Daniel K. Inouye
Medal of Honor Recipient and U.S. Senator
Senator Inouye is a World War II Combat veteran and recipient of the Medal of Honor –
the nation’s highest award for military valor. As a legislator he is the third most senior member of the U.S. Senate.
He is well known and highly respected for his bipartisan approach and consensus building on the Hill.
First elected to the U.S. Senate in 1962, Senator Inouye is now serving his eighth
consecutive term. As the ranking Democrat on the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, he has focused on
legislation to strengthen national security and enhance the quality of life for the military personnel and their
families.
As Co-Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, Senator Inouye has addressed important
issues including aviation and maritime transportation.
Senator Inouye was born and raised in Honolulu as the son of Japanese immigrants. Three
months after celebrating his 17th birthday the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Using his medical training, he rushed
into service as the head of a first-aid litter team. In March, 1943, while a freshman in pre-medical studies at the
University of Hawaii, he enlisted in the U.S. Army’s 442nd Regimental Combat Team.
In the fall of 1944, Senator Inouye’s unit spent two of the bloodiest weeks of the war
rescuing a Texas Battalion surrounded by German forces in the Frend Vosges Mountains. As the war was drawing to a
close, Inouye displayed “extraordinary heroism” on April 21, 1945, near San Terenzo. Second Lieutenant Inouye crawled
up the treacherous slope to within five yards of the nearest machine gun and hurled two grenades. Before the enemy
could retaliate, he stood up and neutralized a second machine gun nest. Although wounded by a sniper’s bullet, he
continued to direct his platoon until enemy resistance was broken.
After losing his right arm, on May 27, 1947, he was honorably discharged at the rank of
Captain. He returned home highly decorated with a Distinguished Service Cross, the Bronze Star, Purple Heart with
cluster and 12 additional medals and citations. His Distinguished Service Cross was upgraded to Medal of Honor and
Presented to him by the President of the United States on June 21, 2000.
 William J. Perry
Former Secretary of Defense
An expert in U.S. foreign policy, national security and arms control, Dr. William J. Perry
is the Michael and Barbara Berberian Professor at Stanford University – a joint appointment at the Stanford Institute
for International Studies and the School of Engineering.
Dr. Perry was the 19th Secretary of Defense, serving from February 1994 to January 1997.
He previously served as Deputy Secretary of Defense and as Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering
and is on the board of directors of several emerging high-tech companies. He is the chairman of Technology Partners.
From 1946 to 1947, Dr. Perry was enlisted in the Army Corps of Engineers and served in
the Army of Occupation of Japan. He joined the Reserve Officer Training Corp in 1948 and was a second lieutenant in
the Army Reserves from 1950 to 1955. His awards include the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Department of
Defense Distinguished Service Medal.
Dr. Perry is a senior fellow and co-director of The Preventive Defense Project, a
research collaboration of Stanford University and Harvard University. Preventive Defense is a concept for American
defense strategy in the post-Cold War era. It is premised on the belief that the absence of an imminent, major,
traditional military threat to American security presents today’s leaders with an unaccustomed challenge and
opportunity to prevent future Cold War-scale threats from emerging. While the U.S. defense establishment must
continue to deter major regional conflicts and provide peacekeeping and humanitarian relief missions, its highest
priority is to contribute to forestalling developments that could directly threaten the survival and vital interests
of American citizens.
To this end, the project focuses on forging productive security partnerships with Russia
and its neighbors, engaging an emerging China, addressing the lethal legacy of Cold War weapons of mass destruction
(WMD), and countering WMD proliferation and potential acts of catastrophic terrorism.
2004 Recipients:
 Florene Miller Watson
Former WAFS/WASP Commanding Officer
A licensed pilot at age 19, Florene Miller Watson was one of the nation’s few women aviation instructors
teaching men how to fly in the period leading up to World War II. She went on to become the first commanding
officer of the Women Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS)/Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) at Love Field,
Texas.
Watson volunteered for the WAFS on December 7, 1941, the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. She not
only met the strict army pilot qualification requirements for women (which differed for men), but exceeded
them. The initial cadre of women pilots averaged more than 1,100 flying hours (850 flying hours more than the
men). She was one of only 25 women selected for the program.
Watson was a test pilot and ferried fighters and bombers across the country during the war. She piloted
mostly combat aircraft such as the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and the North American P-51 Mustang. She flew
over 60 different aircraft types used by the Army Air Forces. Although the WASPs held officer status, they
were classified as civilians. In 1977, after waiting 33 years, the women pilots of World War II were
militarized and more than 1,000 WASPs were recognized with an honorable discharge as Armed Forces veterans.
A native of Odessa, Texas, Watson’s lifetime achievements are many. She was a graduate of Baylor University,
a commercial pilot, a college professor of 30 years, and National Chaplain of the WASP organization. She is
the recipient of numerous awards for outstanding service, leadership and patriotism. Florene Miller Watson
currently resides with her husband Chris in Borger, Texas, and continues to speak to audiences around the
country on the topic of women in aviation in World War II.
Russell E. Dougherty
General, USAF (Ret.)
General Russell E. Dougherty was the commander-in-chief of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) and director of
strategic target planning (Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff) at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, from
August 1, 1974 to July 1, 1977. An attorney, pilot, and airpower leader, he oversaw the most lethal nuclear
arsenal in the world including bombers, tankers, reconnaissance aircraft and intercontinental ballistic
missiles. “The issue is not war and peace, rather, how best to preserve our freedoms,” Dougherty once said.
Dougherty was born in Glasgow, Kentucky, and is a graduate of Western Kentucky University and the Law School
of the University of Louisville. After working for the FBI and serving in the 123rd Cavalry, Kentucky National
Guard, Dougherty entered active military service as an aviation cadet in the US Army Air Corps at the out break
of World War II. In 1947, he served as a unit instructor with the Air Force Reserve at Standiford Field,
Louisville, Kentucky. A judge advocate in the late 40s, he moved from the legal world to fly bombers and
refuelers. His post-World War II assignments encompassed various duties in operational, maintenance,
administrative, political/military and command duties in Air Force, joint, and international assignments. He
retired a Command Pilot and Master Missileman.
A strategic thinker and planner and former Executive Director of the Air Force Association, Dougherty has
served on various government and commercial defense-related boards. He holds numerous military awards and
decorations, five honorary doctorate degrees, and is an “Old Master” of Purdue University. He currently resides
in Arlington, Virginia, with his wife Barbara and remains active in aerospace issues.
2003 Recipients:
John R. Alison
Major General, USAF (Ret.)
Often called ”the All-American Airman,” Major General John R. Alison entered the
United States Air Corps in 1936 and went on to carve a brilliant career in the
military and industry. His talents as a pilot were recognized immediately, and
later proven in combat in Japan, when he gained six victories flying with the
famous 23rd Fighter Group, the successor organization to the immortal American
Volunteer Group—the ”Flying Tigers.” Alison’s diplomatic skills were also recognized
early in his career, when in 1941 he was sent to England to help pilots transition
into the Curtiss P-40, of which he was a complete master. Alison distinguished
himself so well he was chosen to go to the Soviet Union in 1941 to train Russian
pilots in Lend-Lease Warhawks. In his post-war career, General Alison held key
positions in government and industry, serving as Assistant Secretary of Commerce and
President of the Air Force Association.
Honorable John H. Glenn, Jr.
Colonel, USMC (Ret.)
The career of Senator John Glenn has been one long series of ups, including two of
the most famous ”ups” in history —he made the first US manned orbital mission on
February 20, 1962, circling the earth three times in the Mercury-6 spacecraft,
Friendship7; 36 years later he took flight again aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery
on a nine-day mission completing 139 Earth orbits. A combat and test-pilot, Glenn
retired from the Marine Corps in 1965 and became a successful business executive.
In 1974 he was elected to the U.S. Senate and was re-elected four times. His
commitment to education and involving youth in public and community service inspired
the formation of The John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Public Policy, a
nonpartisan institute located at The Ohio State University. The institute encourages
public service among citizens of all ages.
Jeanne M. Holm
Major General, USAF (Ret.)
The first woman to rise to the rank of general officer in the United States Air Force,
Jeanne Holm has spent a lifetime inspiring others. She is a role model for the many
women who admire her and an inspiration to all who served with her. General Holm
played a significant role in eliminating restrictions on women serving in all
ranks—expanding career and duty assignments, opening ROTC and service academies to
women, and changing policies on the status of women in the armed forces. She is
recognized as the single driving force in achieving parity for military women and
making them a viable part of the mainstream military. General Holm retired in 1975 to
pursue a rewarding career in civilian life, serving as a Special Assistant on Women
for President Ford, and as a policy consultant for the Carter administration. She is
the author of Women in the Military: An Unfinished Revolution.
Charles E. McGee
Colonel, USAF (Ret.)
Soft spoken but spellbinding, Colonel McGee is a veteran of three wars—World War II,
Korea and Vietnam. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, he was one of the proud members of the
Tuskegee Airmen, graduating with Class 43F on June 30, 1943. The ”Tuskegee Experiment”
was designed to see if African-American pilots could perform satisfactorily in combat.
The 332nd was a segregated unit, denied many of the rights ordinarily given to other
U.S.A.A.F. units. Despite the differences, McGee and his colleagues were determined to
succeed, and they did so with great honor. By the time of his retirement from the Air
Force on January 31, 1973, he had earned many honors, including the Legion of Merit
with Oak Leaf Cluster, and had 6,300 hours flying time in fighters. McGee went on to a
successful and distinguished civil career that included becoming President of the
Tuskegee Airmen, Incorporated. A gifted speaker, he is in demand continuously for his
inspirational talks.
Bernard A. Schriever
General, USAF (Ret.)
General Bernard A. ”Bernie” Schriever is one of the most important officers in the
history of the United States Air Force. Born in Germany, General Schriever saw World
War I Zeppelins departing on their course to bomb Great Britain, never dreaming that
in four decades he would help create a force of ballistic missiles that would
revolutionize not only warfare, but also space exploration. His long association with
research and development led to an appointment to the pivotal position of commanding
the Western Development Division, and being tasked with the development of the
intercontinental ballistic missile. Schriever and his handpicked military and
industrial team conceived, engineered, produced and deployed the Atlas, Thor, Titan
and Minuteman ballistic missile systems. It was an incredible achievement that led
directly to the mastery of space. After retiring from the Air Force in 1966, Schriever
went on to a successful civilian career, spending much of his time on special
commissions. He is the only man to have had the honor of having an Air Force base
named for him while still living.
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